Radiation treatment can involve the deposition of high-energy radiation in human tissue for the purpose of destroying malignant or unhealthy tissue. This treatment may be performed with an external radiation source. As a side effect, other tissue between or around the source and targeted treatment area may be irradiated and possibly damaged during this type of treatment.
Radiation treatment can also be performed intraoperatively or post-operatively; for example, brachytherapy can be performed following the surgical removal of a cancerous tissue. Conventional brachytherapy involves the placement of a radioactive material on or near the tissue intended for treatment. In some cases, this can include the insertion of the radioactive material, or radioactive seed, into a surgical cavity, for example following a mastectomy or lumpectomy. The radioactive seed or seeds can be left inside a patient for minutes up to days, or in some cases permanently.
Conventional brachytherapy can be cumbersome in an operating-room environment. For example, due to handling procedures of radioactive material involved, staff may need to leave the room during the treatment and the material delivered through an operator-controlled afterloading machine. Furthermore, it can be difficult to optimize treatment plans using radioactive seeds.
Electronic brachytherapy is an emergent field utilizing miniature X-ray sources for localized radiation treatment. While electronic brachytherapy can provide an alternative to radioactive handling, uniformly irradiating a treatment margin with existing miniature X-ray sources can require relatively complex treatment planning. Conversely, implementing non-uniform radiation patterns which selectively under-dose healthy or sensitive tissue can also be difficult with existing brachytherapy systems. What is needed is an advanced electronic brachytherapy system which can implement a predetermined uniform or non-uniform radiation pattern.